It’s hard to believe, but it has been eight years since the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers engaged in a brawl that spilled into the stands and ultimately ended in fan-on-player combat, large fines and long suspensions.

Spurs forward Stephen Jackson, one of two former Pacers to go into the stands, mentioned some of the pitfalls of being an NBA player in a recent interview with ESPN.com. That discussion included Jackson’s take on the 2004 ‘Malice in the Palace’ in Detroit and why he says he found pleasure in fighting fans.

“When I hit that fan, I definitely enjoyed it -- until that fine came down,” Jackson said when asked if the fight was fun. “That $3 million (actually $1.7 million in salary lost) I lost killed me. It brought me back to reality because I could have lost my job.

“It was wild because it had never been done before. And it will never happen again so, yeah, adrenaline was flowing. How many people can say that they’ve punched a fan?”

Jackson was one of several players to receive a substantial suspension and financial loss for their part in the fight. The NBA suspended Jackson for 30 games without pay, which equated to $1.7 million in lost salary. Former teammate Ron Artest, who is now with the Lakers, was suspended 73 games and lost a total of $4.9 million in salary.

The twisted pleasure Jackson got from fighting a fan wasn’t simply based in adrenaline and mal intent. Jackson described what it is like as a visiting player to come into what is essentially enemy territory.

“Do you know all the stuff that they say to us?” Jackson said. “The racist stuff they say to us? We get the N-word and people talking about our wives and family.

“Just because we make a lot of money we’re supposed to be the bigger person? Fans tell us that our kids are ugly and that they should have thrown our mothers in jail for having us. That’s not disrespectful?”

The most troubling portion of the interview with Jackson, who makes it clear he lacks remorse, comes when he retells a conversation with Artest in the immediate aftermath of the brawl.

“No,” Jackson said when asked if he regretted the brawl. “Because the idea of Ron laying in the stands unconscious with all his teeth knocked out … no way. That whole arena was against (us) and I didn’t have it in my heart not to do anything.”

He continued on to describe a conversation with Artest in the locker room after the fight that nearly cost him his career, which now spans 12 seasons.

“The funniest thing in the world,” Jackson said, “Ron leans over to me and asks me if we’re going to get into trouble! I looked at him like he was crazy. We laughed so hard. Jamaal (Tinsley) fell out of his locker.

“I looked at Ron and asked him, ‘Do you realize what we just did? We’re lucky if we have a job tomorrow.’ We just went into the stands. We just banged out on fans. Are you serious? Trouble? I couldn’t believe he asked me that."